India as Known to Panini: A Study of the Cultural Material in the Ashtadhyayi c8.s9.9

c8.s9.9

The roof of a house is called *chhadis*, probably denoting the thatched covering known as *chhappar*. The word *chhādisheya* refers to the material with which the *chhadis* was made (V.1.13). The actual doorway (*dvāra*) opened or closed with a pair of leaves called *kapāṭa*. Reference is made to daring burglars (*kapāṭaghna chaura*) battering against the leaves of a door-way to secure entrance (III.2.54). The *Mahākaṇha Jātaka* refers to battering against the palace-door (*kavāṭe ṭhapetvā*, IV.182). The closed door panels were secured from inside by a bar drawn across called *parigha* or *paligha* (VIII.2.22), which meant an iron bolt (*Vedic Index*, I.494).